Riccardo Martinelli | Università di Trieste (original) (raw)

Kant, Idealism by Riccardo Martinelli

Studi Kantiani, 2021

Kant devotes the last section of Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View to determining the c... more Kant devotes the last section of Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View to determining the character of the human species. A preliminary logical difficulty is the definition of human species. Kant then raises the question as to whether human beings are good, evil, or neither good, nor evil, but utterly shaped by edu- cators. Somewhat unexpectedly, Kant eventually embraces the fourth logically conceivable option and claims that human beings are both good and evil. Kant’s solution for this anthropological antinomy pivots around the distinction between sensible and intelligible character, formulated in the Critique of pure reason. His thoughts are basically consistent with some analogous arguments formulated in Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason. A study of this topic supports a non-dismissive interpretation of Kant’s Anthropology, showing how to integrate it with some of the most important principles of his thought.

Natur und Freiheit. De Gruyter, 2018

In his first two Critiques, Kant makes a distinction between the empirical and the intelligible c... more In his first two Critiques, Kant makes a distinction between the empirical and the intelligible character. Yet, in his Pragmatic anthropology Kant adds the human beings’ “natural aptitude” (Naturell) to the customary dichotomy of “way of sensing” and “way of thinking”. In this paper, I investigate Kant’s concept of natural aptitude in his Pragmatic anthropology and in his Lectures on anthropology. Most probably, Kant’s sources lie in the Scholastic doctrine of the “character of scholars” (Meier). The “good mind” that Kant associates with the human beings’ natural aptitude – in sharp contrast with the autonomy implied by moral character – nevertheless reveals its significance in compensating for the human species’ “pragmatic predisposition”. To some extent, then, natural aptitude contributes to the pursuit of nature’s providential goals.

Hegel-Jahrbuch, 2018

ABSTRACT: Hegel’s treatment of character in §395 of Encyclopedia is considered together with the ... more ABSTRACT: Hegel’s treatment of character in §395 of Encyclopedia is considered together with the commentaries given in his lectures. In these texts Hegel addresses some philosophical problems concerning character. In Hegel’s view, in fact, human character has a “natural basis” and yet depends on a free individual choice. Attention is drawn at Kant’s treatment of the same subject matter in Anthropology form a pragmatic point of view, which is the source of Hegel’s tripartite arrangement of Naturell, temperament and character. Diverging from Kant, however, Hegel introduces a dialectic development within the development of character.

Practical Rationality in Political Contexts. EUT, Dec 2016

This essay addresses the problem of how to cope with national differences philosophically. Indeed... more This essay addresses the problem of how to cope with national differences philosophically. Indeed, talk about national characters may appear to roam below the threshold of any respectable philosophical argumentation. What is worse, folk beliefs concerning national characters have been occasionally steered to foster hostility or prejudice against foreign nations. Nevertheless, it is argued that the philosophical significance of national characters can be defended, in the wake of Hume and Kant. Interestingly, both great thinkers dealt with this topic within the context of a broader analysis of the concept of “character”, which is a widely debated philosophical issue. Taking the existence of some general differences among collective entities (such as nations) for granted, and yet sticking to the moral principle of individual responsibility, Hume and Kant developed different philosophical explanations for national characters. The essay provides an analysis and a comparison of their views.

Intersezioni, Apr 2017

Within the flourishing anthropological literature of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the ... more Within the flourishing anthropological literature of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the deepest kernel of the human character is often referred to as «natural aptitude» (das Naturell). Exemplified by several literary sources and by the so-called «natural logic» of the late German scholastic philosophy, this conceptual framework can be detected both in Kant’s Pragmatic anthropology and Hegel’s Philosophy of the subjective Spirit. In Kant’s view, the «natural disposition» of the human being is a quiet and compliant good-mindedness, which the strong-willed person turns into a positively good character. Though it ultimately depends on a free individual choice, the human character has an unfathomable «natural basis» also for Hegel. Far from indulging in a moralistic reprobation of the lowest instinctual core of the human character, both philosophers address the thorny question of how to match this natural disposition with the higher instances of a truly moral character.

British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2017

The work of Theodor Waitz is an important but hitherto unnoticed source of Dilthey’s concept of ‘... more The work of Theodor Waitz is an important but hitherto unnoticed source of Dilthey’s concept of ‘human sciences’ (Geisteswissenschaften). Waitz (1821–64) was an outstanding philosopher and psychologist who, in the late 1850s, devoted himself wholeheartedly to empirical anthropology. In this field Waitz distinguished himself for his defence of the unity of humankind against mainstream polygenic and racial doctrines. Waitz inspired Dilthey’s articulation of psychology into two branches: the ‘descriptive’ one and the ‘explanative’ one. Even more remarkably, in a work reviewed by Dilthey in warmly favourable terms, Waitz explicitly mentioned and defined the ‘sciences which treat of the spirit (Geist)’. Some of Dilthey's most interesting ideas are thus prefigured in Waitz’s long underrated work.

Kant und die Philosophie in weltbürgerlicher Absicht. De Gruyter, 2013

This essay focuses on the relation between man and the world in Kant’s anthropology. Within Baumg... more This essay focuses on the relation between man and the world in Kant’s anthropology. Within Baumgarten’s Metaphysica, used as a manual by Kant for his lessons, empirical psychology is situated between cosmology and rational psychology. However, this view is untenable for Kant, at least after the first Critique. Consequently, whereas Baumgarten explains, for instance, obscure ideas referring to the bodily position in the world, Kant’s pragmatic approach excludes this. Yet, the concept of «Welt» retains paramount importance within Kant’s Anthropology. The two parts of the work are thus harmonically linked: the first offers an account of a largely pathological human psychology; the second a way out of the pathology through the construction of a social and historical human world. Accordingly, anthropology responds to the «Weltbegriff» of philosophy and helps to correct the deviations from the final rational destination of mankind.

L'universo kantiano. Quodlibet , 2010

Il saggio analizza l’Antropologia pragmatica di Kant alla luce degli altri scritti critici e prec... more Il saggio analizza l’Antropologia pragmatica di Kant alla luce degli altri scritti critici e precritici, delle Lezioni, delle fonti e del dibattito critico internazionale più recente. Viene chiarito anzitutto il rapporto tra antropologia e critica della ragione: gli esiti della Dialettica trascendentale impongono a Kant di individuare un nuovo assetto per la scienza empirica dell’uomo superando la prospettiva scolastica. Ciò si manifesta nell’adozione del termine «antropologia», che tuttavia Kant distingue dalle antropologie mediche del tempo, per lo più deterministiche, grazie all’impostazione «pragmatica». La psicologia empirica viene inglobata ma riformata nel nuovo progetto: nella Didattica Kant sottolinea gli aspetti problematici o «negativi» nell’uso delle facoltà: si individuano così gli «elementi» di un’antropologia poi utilizzati nella Caratteristica per definire il senso della «destinazione» razionale dell’uomo nel senso del concetto cosmico della filosofia.

Il Mulino, 2005

Con lo sviluppo dell'antropologia moderna, alcuni problemi filosofici si ripropongono in forma in... more Con lo sviluppo dell'antropologia moderna, alcuni problemi filosofici si ripropongono in forma inedita. Riflettere sull'uomo non significa più conoscere se stessi, né parlare di Dio o dell'anima, ma confrontarsi con un essere problematicamente proteso tra determinatezza e libertà, tra "natura" e "mondo". Il volume mostra come lo svolgersi di questa vicenda sia assai meno frammentario e discontinuo di quanto talora si presuma. Il problema antropologico è al centro di un vivace ed aspro dibattito che, dal fiorire dell'antropologia all'epoca di Herder e Kant, giunge, attraversando l'intero sviluppo del pensiero ottocentesco e in particolare le opere di Hegel, Marx, Darwin e Nietzsche, fino all'«antropologia filosofica» e alla critica dell’«antropologismo» da parte di Husserl e Heidegger. E’ su questo sfondo tematico che si comprendono molti degli sviluppi novecenteschi e contemporanei.

Lexicon Philosophicum, 2014

ABSTRACT Together with other influential psychologists of the time, Wundt considers internal data... more ABSTRACT
Together with other influential psychologists of the time, Wundt considers internal data as absolute evidence (unlike Kant), grounding psychology on this assumption. In opposition to his former mentor, Külpe aims at rehabilitating Kant’s transcendental aesthetics. Yet, he is far from embracing transcendentalism and rejects Kant’s skepticism as to the possibility of a scientific psychology. Nevertheless, Külpe believes that Kant is right in considering internal data as unreliable for scientific purposes: accordingly, psychology should share the same scientific methodology of any other science.

Esercizi filosofici, 2011

In this essay I discuss Kant's concept of character in the light of the concept of nature adopted... more In this essay I discuss Kant's concept of character in the light of the concept of nature adopted in Kant's Pragmatic anthropology. In the Preface, Kant contrasts mechanical nature with freedom and opts for a pragmatic, rather than a physiological anthropology. In the Anthropological characteristics, however, Kant introduces his teleological concept of nature. Accordingly, he defends the view that there is no basic contrast between the purpose of nature (in the latter sense) and human freedom.

Nazioni come individui, 2020

This essay aims at a general assessment of the section concerning national characters in Kant's A... more This essay aims at a general assessment of the section concerning national characters in Kant's Anthropology from a pragmatic point of view of 1798 (neither the Observations of 1764, nor his previous lectures on anthropology are taken into account). Firmly rejecting the climatic theory, Kant advocates an anti-naturalistic stance. However, Kant is skeptical of Hume’s tenet that nations owe their characters to the different forms of government. In Kant’s view, the most civilized nations are England and France: their characters have to do with purely cultural factors. Complementing each other, the characters of those nations broadly correspond to a masculine and feminine principle, as analyzed by Kant in the previous chapter of his Anthropology. The remaining European and Extra-European nations have a less defined – and, in some cases, mixed – character, that owes something more to their natural dispositions. Yet Kant still manages to avoid naturalistic explanations. In many nations, natural dispositions do prevail over cultural ones, but this simply means that less (and sometimes, nothing) can be said about their characters.

Quodlibet, 2011

A più di duecento anni dalla sua scomparsa, Kant appare ancora capace di alimentare molti campi d... more A più di duecento anni dalla sua scomparsa, Kant appare ancora capace di alimentare molti campi della riflessione filosofica contemporanea. Ma quali sono le ragioni e qual è il significato di questo persistere dell’interesse per la figura di Kant? Di fatto, gli aspetti del pensiero kantiano che di volta in volta sono stati, e sono tuttora, al centro dell’attenzione, appaiono mutevoli e talora persino contraddittori. Il presente volume analizza i diversi ambiti della filosofia, delle scienze e del sapere, nei quali tale lascito si concretizza, dando origine in molti casi a problematiche e indirizzi che hanno guadagnato, nel tempo, una certa autonomia. L’eredità di Kant non giunge quindi, pur mantenendo un profilo generale ben definito, a cristallizzarsi in sistema compiuto. La sua ricognizione è stata condotta muovendo dal cuore stesso della teoria kantiana, ma senza trascurare il peso che essa tuttora riveste nel nostro panorama contemporaneo. Per questa ragione, si sono considerati anche quegli ambiti del pensiero filosofico la cui definizione e formulazione esplicita è posteriore al tempo di Kant.
La prima sezione ospita interventi su Antropologia (Riccardo Martinelli), Biologia (Luca Illetterati), Estetica (Gabriele Tomasi), Etica (Luca Fonnesu), Fisica (Pierre Kerszberg), Logica (Mirella Capozzi), Matematica (Antonio Moretto), Metafisica (Gerardo Cunico), Politica (Luigi Caranti), Psicologia (Claudio La Rocca), Religione (Giuseppe Cantillo), Storia (Massimo Mori); la seconda sezione analizza invece questioni relative a Epistemologia (Paolo Parrini), Ermeneutica (Francesco Camera), Fenomenologia (Stefano Besoli), Filosofia analitica (Massimo Ferrari), Neokantismo (Gianna Gigliotti).

Christian Wolff tra psicologia empirica e psicologia razionale. Olms, 2007

Rivista di filosofia, 1996

Quodlibet, 1999

Il volume ricostruisce la storia di un problema classico, quello del rapporto tra anima e corpo, ... more Il volume ricostruisce la storia di un problema classico, quello del rapporto tra anima e corpo, in seno alla filosofia tedesca dell'Ottocento e del primo Novecento. Il tentativo di applicare alla sfera psichica i procedimenti di misurazione e quantificazione tipici delle scienze naturali, scatenò all’epoca un vivace dibattito intorno alla natura dell’anima e ai limiti di applicabilità del metodo scientifico. Al centro di questo nodo problematico si colloca idealmente la psicofisica, disciplina ideata da G.Th. Fechner sulla base delle ricerche fisiologiche di E.H. Weber, ma anche sotto l'influsso determinante del pensiero di Schelling. A metà strada tra la metafisica del XVII secolo e le novecentesche discussioni sul Mind-Body Problem, l’ampia querelle sulla psicofisica coinvolse le maggiori personalità filosofiche del tempo, impegnandole su questioni che rimangono a tutt'oggi di grande attualità teoretica. Muovendo da una puntuale ricerca delle origini del problema, individuabili nell'opera di Kant, il volume affronta le principali scuole di pensiero dell'Ottocento per concludersi infine con l'esame degli importanti contributi offerti dalla scuola descrittivo-fenomenologica di Brentano e dai massimi esponenti del Circolo di Vienna

Studi Kantiani, 2002

Nella seconda edizione della Critica della ragion pura Kant modifica considerevolmente la prima s... more Nella seconda edizione della Critica della ragion pura Kant modifica considerevolmente la prima sezione della Dialettica trascendentale, introducendovi tra le altre cose una «confutazione» della dimostrazione di Moses Mendelssohn circa l'immortalità dell'anima 1 . L'argomento impugnato da Kant è tratto dal dialogo intitolato Phädon, oder über die Unsterblichkeit der Seele, opera che fin dalla prima edizione del 1767 ebbe una grandissima diffusione in tutta Europa. Il filosofo ebreo berlinese vi riprendeva, mutandoli profondamente «secondo il gusto dei nostri tempi», lo stile e alcuni spunti tematici del Fedone platonico 2 . La modernizzazione prevedeva tra l'altro, come si vedrà, un significativo riferimento alla legge di continuità (desunta dalla fisica di Boscovich), la qual cosa offriva a Kant il destro di una replica condotta con l'ausilio decisivo della distinzione tra grandezze estensive e intensive. Tutto ciò ha l'effetto di indirizzare l'interesse del lettore verso le difficoltà e le implicazioni filosofiche che la questione di una permanenza dell'anima dopo la morte solleva non tanto sotto il profilo etico-religioso, ma dal punto di vista della filosofia della natura, tant'è che la dimostrazione opposta a Mendelssohn si trova già anticipata nei Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Naturwissenschaft del 1786 3 .

Discipline filosofiche, 2017

Oswald Külpe’s original interpretation of Kant’s philosophy influenced Külpe’s own philosophical ... more Oswald Külpe’s original interpretation of Kant’s philosophy influenced Külpe’s own philosophical thought. On the one hand, Külpe is critical of his illustrious predecessor. For him, in fact, Kant wrongly denies that human thought can address itself to truly non-intuitive objects; furthermore, his transcendental aesthetics is utterly misleading. Interestingly, both claims are supported by Külpe with reference to the psychological research of the time. On the other hand, however, Külpe is highly sympathetic with one of Kant’s central assumptions, namely the unreliability of the internal sense. Against Wundt and other psychologists of his time, Külpe conceives of the epistemological foundations of psychology in accordance with the rehabilitation of this Kantian claim.

Philosophical Readings, 2015

This essay addresses the attitude of some leading Neo-Kantian philosophers toward scientific psyc... more This essay addresses the attitude of some leading Neo-Kantian philosophers toward scientific psychology and psychophysics. Early influential figures like Friedrich A. Lange counted Gustav T. Fechner’s psychophysical law among their allies in the rehabilitation of the Kantian standpoint. Later on, however, Neo-Kantian philosophers firmly rejected psychological measurement as a whole (Eduard Zeller) and harshly criticized the methods adopted by several psychologists of their time. For example, the Marburg mathematician and philosopher August Stadler reduced the validity of Fechner’s law to the mere physiological sphere, and Hermann Cohen conceived the application of mathematical integration to human sensations as an inane enterprise.

The Philosophical Quarterly, 2013

seated competences. Perceptual competences, for example, depend on perceptual experience that is ... more seated competences. Perceptual competences, for example, depend on perceptual experience that is essentially propositional, according to Sosa, but propositions require conceptual constituents that are reasonably understood to be public items. And might joint activity like inquiry-focused dialogue depend for its epistemic success on the mutual deployment of a socially seated competence acquired when we acquire language? These questions push out well beyond the bounds of Knowing Full Well, but the fact that the book prompts them is a sign of the rewards that await the reader.

Studi Kantiani, 2021

Kant devotes the last section of Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View to determining the c... more Kant devotes the last section of Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View to determining the character of the human species. A preliminary logical difficulty is the definition of human species. Kant then raises the question as to whether human beings are good, evil, or neither good, nor evil, but utterly shaped by edu- cators. Somewhat unexpectedly, Kant eventually embraces the fourth logically conceivable option and claims that human beings are both good and evil. Kant’s solution for this anthropological antinomy pivots around the distinction between sensible and intelligible character, formulated in the Critique of pure reason. His thoughts are basically consistent with some analogous arguments formulated in Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason. A study of this topic supports a non-dismissive interpretation of Kant’s Anthropology, showing how to integrate it with some of the most important principles of his thought.

Natur und Freiheit. De Gruyter, 2018

In his first two Critiques, Kant makes a distinction between the empirical and the intelligible c... more In his first two Critiques, Kant makes a distinction between the empirical and the intelligible character. Yet, in his Pragmatic anthropology Kant adds the human beings’ “natural aptitude” (Naturell) to the customary dichotomy of “way of sensing” and “way of thinking”. In this paper, I investigate Kant’s concept of natural aptitude in his Pragmatic anthropology and in his Lectures on anthropology. Most probably, Kant’s sources lie in the Scholastic doctrine of the “character of scholars” (Meier). The “good mind” that Kant associates with the human beings’ natural aptitude – in sharp contrast with the autonomy implied by moral character – nevertheless reveals its significance in compensating for the human species’ “pragmatic predisposition”. To some extent, then, natural aptitude contributes to the pursuit of nature’s providential goals.

Hegel-Jahrbuch, 2018

ABSTRACT: Hegel’s treatment of character in §395 of Encyclopedia is considered together with the ... more ABSTRACT: Hegel’s treatment of character in §395 of Encyclopedia is considered together with the commentaries given in his lectures. In these texts Hegel addresses some philosophical problems concerning character. In Hegel’s view, in fact, human character has a “natural basis” and yet depends on a free individual choice. Attention is drawn at Kant’s treatment of the same subject matter in Anthropology form a pragmatic point of view, which is the source of Hegel’s tripartite arrangement of Naturell, temperament and character. Diverging from Kant, however, Hegel introduces a dialectic development within the development of character.

Practical Rationality in Political Contexts. EUT, Dec 2016

This essay addresses the problem of how to cope with national differences philosophically. Indeed... more This essay addresses the problem of how to cope with national differences philosophically. Indeed, talk about national characters may appear to roam below the threshold of any respectable philosophical argumentation. What is worse, folk beliefs concerning national characters have been occasionally steered to foster hostility or prejudice against foreign nations. Nevertheless, it is argued that the philosophical significance of national characters can be defended, in the wake of Hume and Kant. Interestingly, both great thinkers dealt with this topic within the context of a broader analysis of the concept of “character”, which is a widely debated philosophical issue. Taking the existence of some general differences among collective entities (such as nations) for granted, and yet sticking to the moral principle of individual responsibility, Hume and Kant developed different philosophical explanations for national characters. The essay provides an analysis and a comparison of their views.

Intersezioni, Apr 2017

Within the flourishing anthropological literature of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the ... more Within the flourishing anthropological literature of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the deepest kernel of the human character is often referred to as «natural aptitude» (das Naturell). Exemplified by several literary sources and by the so-called «natural logic» of the late German scholastic philosophy, this conceptual framework can be detected both in Kant’s Pragmatic anthropology and Hegel’s Philosophy of the subjective Spirit. In Kant’s view, the «natural disposition» of the human being is a quiet and compliant good-mindedness, which the strong-willed person turns into a positively good character. Though it ultimately depends on a free individual choice, the human character has an unfathomable «natural basis» also for Hegel. Far from indulging in a moralistic reprobation of the lowest instinctual core of the human character, both philosophers address the thorny question of how to match this natural disposition with the higher instances of a truly moral character.

British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2017

The work of Theodor Waitz is an important but hitherto unnoticed source of Dilthey’s concept of ‘... more The work of Theodor Waitz is an important but hitherto unnoticed source of Dilthey’s concept of ‘human sciences’ (Geisteswissenschaften). Waitz (1821–64) was an outstanding philosopher and psychologist who, in the late 1850s, devoted himself wholeheartedly to empirical anthropology. In this field Waitz distinguished himself for his defence of the unity of humankind against mainstream polygenic and racial doctrines. Waitz inspired Dilthey’s articulation of psychology into two branches: the ‘descriptive’ one and the ‘explanative’ one. Even more remarkably, in a work reviewed by Dilthey in warmly favourable terms, Waitz explicitly mentioned and defined the ‘sciences which treat of the spirit (Geist)’. Some of Dilthey's most interesting ideas are thus prefigured in Waitz’s long underrated work.

Kant und die Philosophie in weltbürgerlicher Absicht. De Gruyter, 2013

This essay focuses on the relation between man and the world in Kant’s anthropology. Within Baumg... more This essay focuses on the relation between man and the world in Kant’s anthropology. Within Baumgarten’s Metaphysica, used as a manual by Kant for his lessons, empirical psychology is situated between cosmology and rational psychology. However, this view is untenable for Kant, at least after the first Critique. Consequently, whereas Baumgarten explains, for instance, obscure ideas referring to the bodily position in the world, Kant’s pragmatic approach excludes this. Yet, the concept of «Welt» retains paramount importance within Kant’s Anthropology. The two parts of the work are thus harmonically linked: the first offers an account of a largely pathological human psychology; the second a way out of the pathology through the construction of a social and historical human world. Accordingly, anthropology responds to the «Weltbegriff» of philosophy and helps to correct the deviations from the final rational destination of mankind.

L'universo kantiano. Quodlibet , 2010

Il saggio analizza l’Antropologia pragmatica di Kant alla luce degli altri scritti critici e prec... more Il saggio analizza l’Antropologia pragmatica di Kant alla luce degli altri scritti critici e precritici, delle Lezioni, delle fonti e del dibattito critico internazionale più recente. Viene chiarito anzitutto il rapporto tra antropologia e critica della ragione: gli esiti della Dialettica trascendentale impongono a Kant di individuare un nuovo assetto per la scienza empirica dell’uomo superando la prospettiva scolastica. Ciò si manifesta nell’adozione del termine «antropologia», che tuttavia Kant distingue dalle antropologie mediche del tempo, per lo più deterministiche, grazie all’impostazione «pragmatica». La psicologia empirica viene inglobata ma riformata nel nuovo progetto: nella Didattica Kant sottolinea gli aspetti problematici o «negativi» nell’uso delle facoltà: si individuano così gli «elementi» di un’antropologia poi utilizzati nella Caratteristica per definire il senso della «destinazione» razionale dell’uomo nel senso del concetto cosmico della filosofia.

Il Mulino, 2005

Con lo sviluppo dell'antropologia moderna, alcuni problemi filosofici si ripropongono in forma in... more Con lo sviluppo dell'antropologia moderna, alcuni problemi filosofici si ripropongono in forma inedita. Riflettere sull'uomo non significa più conoscere se stessi, né parlare di Dio o dell'anima, ma confrontarsi con un essere problematicamente proteso tra determinatezza e libertà, tra "natura" e "mondo". Il volume mostra come lo svolgersi di questa vicenda sia assai meno frammentario e discontinuo di quanto talora si presuma. Il problema antropologico è al centro di un vivace ed aspro dibattito che, dal fiorire dell'antropologia all'epoca di Herder e Kant, giunge, attraversando l'intero sviluppo del pensiero ottocentesco e in particolare le opere di Hegel, Marx, Darwin e Nietzsche, fino all'«antropologia filosofica» e alla critica dell’«antropologismo» da parte di Husserl e Heidegger. E’ su questo sfondo tematico che si comprendono molti degli sviluppi novecenteschi e contemporanei.

Lexicon Philosophicum, 2014

ABSTRACT Together with other influential psychologists of the time, Wundt considers internal data... more ABSTRACT
Together with other influential psychologists of the time, Wundt considers internal data as absolute evidence (unlike Kant), grounding psychology on this assumption. In opposition to his former mentor, Külpe aims at rehabilitating Kant’s transcendental aesthetics. Yet, he is far from embracing transcendentalism and rejects Kant’s skepticism as to the possibility of a scientific psychology. Nevertheless, Külpe believes that Kant is right in considering internal data as unreliable for scientific purposes: accordingly, psychology should share the same scientific methodology of any other science.

Esercizi filosofici, 2011

In this essay I discuss Kant's concept of character in the light of the concept of nature adopted... more In this essay I discuss Kant's concept of character in the light of the concept of nature adopted in Kant's Pragmatic anthropology. In the Preface, Kant contrasts mechanical nature with freedom and opts for a pragmatic, rather than a physiological anthropology. In the Anthropological characteristics, however, Kant introduces his teleological concept of nature. Accordingly, he defends the view that there is no basic contrast between the purpose of nature (in the latter sense) and human freedom.

Nazioni come individui, 2020

This essay aims at a general assessment of the section concerning national characters in Kant's A... more This essay aims at a general assessment of the section concerning national characters in Kant's Anthropology from a pragmatic point of view of 1798 (neither the Observations of 1764, nor his previous lectures on anthropology are taken into account). Firmly rejecting the climatic theory, Kant advocates an anti-naturalistic stance. However, Kant is skeptical of Hume’s tenet that nations owe their characters to the different forms of government. In Kant’s view, the most civilized nations are England and France: their characters have to do with purely cultural factors. Complementing each other, the characters of those nations broadly correspond to a masculine and feminine principle, as analyzed by Kant in the previous chapter of his Anthropology. The remaining European and Extra-European nations have a less defined – and, in some cases, mixed – character, that owes something more to their natural dispositions. Yet Kant still manages to avoid naturalistic explanations. In many nations, natural dispositions do prevail over cultural ones, but this simply means that less (and sometimes, nothing) can be said about their characters.

Quodlibet, 2011

A più di duecento anni dalla sua scomparsa, Kant appare ancora capace di alimentare molti campi d... more A più di duecento anni dalla sua scomparsa, Kant appare ancora capace di alimentare molti campi della riflessione filosofica contemporanea. Ma quali sono le ragioni e qual è il significato di questo persistere dell’interesse per la figura di Kant? Di fatto, gli aspetti del pensiero kantiano che di volta in volta sono stati, e sono tuttora, al centro dell’attenzione, appaiono mutevoli e talora persino contraddittori. Il presente volume analizza i diversi ambiti della filosofia, delle scienze e del sapere, nei quali tale lascito si concretizza, dando origine in molti casi a problematiche e indirizzi che hanno guadagnato, nel tempo, una certa autonomia. L’eredità di Kant non giunge quindi, pur mantenendo un profilo generale ben definito, a cristallizzarsi in sistema compiuto. La sua ricognizione è stata condotta muovendo dal cuore stesso della teoria kantiana, ma senza trascurare il peso che essa tuttora riveste nel nostro panorama contemporaneo. Per questa ragione, si sono considerati anche quegli ambiti del pensiero filosofico la cui definizione e formulazione esplicita è posteriore al tempo di Kant.
La prima sezione ospita interventi su Antropologia (Riccardo Martinelli), Biologia (Luca Illetterati), Estetica (Gabriele Tomasi), Etica (Luca Fonnesu), Fisica (Pierre Kerszberg), Logica (Mirella Capozzi), Matematica (Antonio Moretto), Metafisica (Gerardo Cunico), Politica (Luigi Caranti), Psicologia (Claudio La Rocca), Religione (Giuseppe Cantillo), Storia (Massimo Mori); la seconda sezione analizza invece questioni relative a Epistemologia (Paolo Parrini), Ermeneutica (Francesco Camera), Fenomenologia (Stefano Besoli), Filosofia analitica (Massimo Ferrari), Neokantismo (Gianna Gigliotti).

Christian Wolff tra psicologia empirica e psicologia razionale. Olms, 2007

Rivista di filosofia, 1996

Quodlibet, 1999

Il volume ricostruisce la storia di un problema classico, quello del rapporto tra anima e corpo, ... more Il volume ricostruisce la storia di un problema classico, quello del rapporto tra anima e corpo, in seno alla filosofia tedesca dell'Ottocento e del primo Novecento. Il tentativo di applicare alla sfera psichica i procedimenti di misurazione e quantificazione tipici delle scienze naturali, scatenò all’epoca un vivace dibattito intorno alla natura dell’anima e ai limiti di applicabilità del metodo scientifico. Al centro di questo nodo problematico si colloca idealmente la psicofisica, disciplina ideata da G.Th. Fechner sulla base delle ricerche fisiologiche di E.H. Weber, ma anche sotto l'influsso determinante del pensiero di Schelling. A metà strada tra la metafisica del XVII secolo e le novecentesche discussioni sul Mind-Body Problem, l’ampia querelle sulla psicofisica coinvolse le maggiori personalità filosofiche del tempo, impegnandole su questioni che rimangono a tutt'oggi di grande attualità teoretica. Muovendo da una puntuale ricerca delle origini del problema, individuabili nell'opera di Kant, il volume affronta le principali scuole di pensiero dell'Ottocento per concludersi infine con l'esame degli importanti contributi offerti dalla scuola descrittivo-fenomenologica di Brentano e dai massimi esponenti del Circolo di Vienna

Studi Kantiani, 2002

Nella seconda edizione della Critica della ragion pura Kant modifica considerevolmente la prima s... more Nella seconda edizione della Critica della ragion pura Kant modifica considerevolmente la prima sezione della Dialettica trascendentale, introducendovi tra le altre cose una «confutazione» della dimostrazione di Moses Mendelssohn circa l'immortalità dell'anima 1 . L'argomento impugnato da Kant è tratto dal dialogo intitolato Phädon, oder über die Unsterblichkeit der Seele, opera che fin dalla prima edizione del 1767 ebbe una grandissima diffusione in tutta Europa. Il filosofo ebreo berlinese vi riprendeva, mutandoli profondamente «secondo il gusto dei nostri tempi», lo stile e alcuni spunti tematici del Fedone platonico 2 . La modernizzazione prevedeva tra l'altro, come si vedrà, un significativo riferimento alla legge di continuità (desunta dalla fisica di Boscovich), la qual cosa offriva a Kant il destro di una replica condotta con l'ausilio decisivo della distinzione tra grandezze estensive e intensive. Tutto ciò ha l'effetto di indirizzare l'interesse del lettore verso le difficoltà e le implicazioni filosofiche che la questione di una permanenza dell'anima dopo la morte solleva non tanto sotto il profilo etico-religioso, ma dal punto di vista della filosofia della natura, tant'è che la dimostrazione opposta a Mendelssohn si trova già anticipata nei Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Naturwissenschaft del 1786 3 .

Discipline filosofiche, 2017

Oswald Külpe’s original interpretation of Kant’s philosophy influenced Külpe’s own philosophical ... more Oswald Külpe’s original interpretation of Kant’s philosophy influenced Külpe’s own philosophical thought. On the one hand, Külpe is critical of his illustrious predecessor. For him, in fact, Kant wrongly denies that human thought can address itself to truly non-intuitive objects; furthermore, his transcendental aesthetics is utterly misleading. Interestingly, both claims are supported by Külpe with reference to the psychological research of the time. On the other hand, however, Külpe is highly sympathetic with one of Kant’s central assumptions, namely the unreliability of the internal sense. Against Wundt and other psychologists of his time, Külpe conceives of the epistemological foundations of psychology in accordance with the rehabilitation of this Kantian claim.

Philosophical Readings, 2015

This essay addresses the attitude of some leading Neo-Kantian philosophers toward scientific psyc... more This essay addresses the attitude of some leading Neo-Kantian philosophers toward scientific psychology and psychophysics. Early influential figures like Friedrich A. Lange counted Gustav T. Fechner’s psychophysical law among their allies in the rehabilitation of the Kantian standpoint. Later on, however, Neo-Kantian philosophers firmly rejected psychological measurement as a whole (Eduard Zeller) and harshly criticized the methods adopted by several psychologists of their time. For example, the Marburg mathematician and philosopher August Stadler reduced the validity of Fechner’s law to the mere physiological sphere, and Hermann Cohen conceived the application of mathematical integration to human sensations as an inane enterprise.

The Philosophical Quarterly, 2013

seated competences. Perceptual competences, for example, depend on perceptual experience that is ... more seated competences. Perceptual competences, for example, depend on perceptual experience that is essentially propositional, according to Sosa, but propositions require conceptual constituents that are reasonably understood to be public items. And might joint activity like inquiry-focused dialogue depend for its epistemic success on the mutual deployment of a socially seated competence acquired when we acquire language? These questions push out well beyond the bounds of Knowing Full Well, but the fact that the book prompts them is a sign of the rewards that await the reader.

Herbartism in Austrian Philosophy, ed. by C. Maigné. Berlin, de Gruyter (Meinong Studies, n.11), 2021

Building upon Kant’s concept of intensive magnitude, Herbart developed a method for the measureme... more Building upon Kant’s concept of intensive magnitude, Herbart developed a method for the measurement of the relative intensity of mental presentations. This relativistic strategy strongly influenced Austrian thinkers and scientists. Among those who further developed this approach, a special mention is deserved by Hering, who strongly influences Brentano. With an audacious move, Meinong claimed that both intensive and extensive magnitudes occur within the mental. As a consequence of Russell’s criticism of this tenet, Meinong retreated and developed the Theory of objects.

De Gruyter, Apr 27, 2020

James and Stumpf first met in Prague in 1882. James soon started corresponding with a “colleague ... more James and Stumpf first met in Prague in 1882. James soon started corresponding with a “colleague with whose person and whose ideas alike I feel so warm a sympathy.” With this, a lifelong epistolary friendship began. For 28 years until James’s death in 1910, Stumpf became James’s most important European correspondent. Besides psychological themes of great importance, such as the perception of space and of sound, the letters include commentary upon Stumpf’s (Tonpsychologie) and James’s main books (The Principles of Psychology, The Varieties of Religious Experience), and many other works. The two friends also exchange views concerning other scholars, religious faith and metaphysical topics. The different perspectives of the American and the German (European) way of living, philosophizing and doing science are frequently under discussion. The letters also touch upon personal questions of historical interest. The book offers a critical edition and the English translation of hitherto unpublished primary sources. Historians of psychology and historians of philosophy will welcome the volume as a useful tool for their understanding of some crucial developments of the time. Scholars in the history of pragmatism and of phenomenology will also be interested in the volume.
This edition of the letters between William James and Carl Stumpf encompasses 23 unpublished letters of the German philosopher Carl Stumpf to William James, and James’ 34 preserved letters to Stumpf. The volume also includes an extensive introduction and explanatory notes, together with the essay published by Stumpf in Kant-Studien (“William James nach seinen Briefen”, 1927) and additional archive materials.

Meinong Studies (X). De Gruyter, 2020

Meinong’s early writings include a number of discussions that are in line with the mainstream psy... more Meinong’s early writings include a number of discussions that are in line with the mainstream psychological research of his time. This is not at odds with the parallel theorizing tendency of his philosophical psychology. Even after developing the theory of objects, and despite handing psychological research over to his pupils, Meinong kept thinking highly of psychology. Meinong’s psychology is in tune with his most relevant philosophical doctrines. The theory of “production” virtuously integrates that of founded objects. The manifold “dispositions” (including phantasy) and the different subjective “attitudes” (gestalt-like or analytical) lead to regular, lawful deviations from standard responses that can and should be investigated experimentally. While being an independent discipline, Meinongian psychology nevertheless fits into a full- fledged system of philosophical assumptions.

Rivista di Filosofia Neo-Scolastica, 2019

In his Psychology of 1874, Brentano proceeds to a revision of Fechner’s psychophysics. Fechner’s ... more In his Psychology of 1874, Brentano proceeds to a revision of Fechner’s psychophysics. Fechner’s formula must be simplified, but Brentano’s criticism is not destructive. Like any other mental activity, sensations admit of a measurable intensity for him. Later Brentano took back this whole stance and developed a new doctrine of sensory perception. According to this new doctrine, intensity must be completely reduced to spatiality and thus pertains exclusively to sensory appearances. As a consequence, despite Brentano’s understatement in his 1911 book on the classification of mental activities, a wide portion of his 1874 Psychology becomes untenable for him. Brentano’s new doctrine of sensory perception was unsuccessful, and failed to convince even his closest pupils. The best explanation for its adoption is that Brentano considered it compatible with the physiology of Hermann Helmholtz and the law of specific energy.

Rodopi (ed. with Denis Fisette), 2015

This book highlights Carl Stumpf’s contributions to philosophy and to assess some of the aspects ... more This book highlights Carl Stumpf’s contributions to philosophy and to assess some of the aspects of his work. The book is divided into four sections, and also includes a general introduction on Stumpf’s philosophy. The first section examines the historical sources of his philosophy, the second examines some of the central themes of his work and the third examines his relationship to other philosophers. The fourth section consists of notes taken by Husserl during Stumpf’s lectures on metaphysics in Halle, Stumpf’s introduction to the edition of his correspondence with Brentano, which he prepared in 1929, and some important letters pertaining to this correspondence. This book also provides a comprehensive bibliography of the works of Stumpf

in: Philosophy from an Empirical Standpoint: Essays on Carl Stumpf. Rodopi, 2015

Stumpf’s doctrine of the categories is of great importance for our understanding of his philosoph... more Stumpf’s doctrine of the categories is of great importance for our understanding of his philosophy. This theme had been widely discussed among German thinkers after Kant; Brentano himself had repeatedly dealt with it since his early works. However, Stumpf considerably diverges from Brentano on this crucial philosophical topic. Although a systematic discussion can be found only in Stumpf’s posthumous Erkenntnislehre, his core ideas on the categories can be traced to his early work on space of 1873. In fact, Stumpf claims that the peculiar relationship between extension and color is analogous to the relationship that holds between substance and accidents. Thus, like any other category, substance empirically stems from perception. Sensory experience, for Stumpf, is made up of perceptual wholes, whose attributes are typically bound to each other, rather than separately given in bundles, as Hume and other associationists used to assume. Thus, the achievements of Stumpf’s (and others’) holist psychology effectively contributes a solution to this classic metaphysical problem.

Philosophia scientiae, 2015

Abstract: This essay deals with the relationship between philosophy and ex- perimental sciences i... more Abstract: This essay deals with the relationship between philosophy and ex- perimental sciences in Carl Stumpf’s epistemology. A student of both Brentano and Lotze, Stumpf also gained scientific training with the physicist Wilhelm Weber in Göttingen. His double skill set in the fields of philosophy and ex- perimental sciences made his position within the German thought of his time very unusual. Stumpf’s works range from philosophy and phenomenology to experimental investigations into the field of psychology (especially acoustic and musical phenomena, child psychology, animal psychology, psychology of genius). Moreover, he wrote about mathematics, physical acoustics, phonetics and ethnomusicology. Consistent with his personal inclination towards the ascertainment of factual truths by means of experiments, Stumpf claimed his epistemological writings that philosophy should work hand-in-hand with scientific practice.

Carl Stumpf. Krammer , 2011

In his Spinozastudien (1919) Stumpf dismisses the commonplace interpretation of Spinoza’s paralle... more In his Spinozastudien (1919) Stumpf dismisses the commonplace interpretation of Spinoza’s parallelism in psychophysical terms. Rather, he suggests to read Ethics, II, Prop. 7, as the heritage of the scholastic doctrine of intentionality. Accordingly, things (of any kind: res) are the intentional objects of God’s ideas. On this basis, Stumpf also tries to make sense of the puzzling spinozian doctrine of the infinity of God’s attributes. In support of this exegesis, Stumpf offers an interesting reconstruction of the history of intentionality from Plato and Aristotle to the late Scholastics (XVII century). Besides its intrinsic value, Stumpf’s confrontation with Spinoza is illuminating in explaining his own position concerning a crucial phenomenological question such as intentionality. Actually, Stumpf avoids defining the mental in terms of intentionality and maintains, rather, a moderate but professed dualistic position, thus deeply diverging from both Brentano and Husserl.

Dialogue and Universalism, 2015

This essay is about the Wolfgang Köhler’s philosophical ideas expressed in his The Place of Value... more This essay is about the Wolfgang Köhler’s philosophical ideas expressed in his The Place of Value in a World of Facts of 1938. Köhler, who strongly supports a scientific world view, considers the question as to whether science is able to cope with human values, besides natural facts. Relying upon phenomenological analyses, and on his previous researches in natural philosophy, Köhler introduces his doctrine of “epistemological dualism”. From a historical point of view, this theory exhibits some similarity with the philosophical ideas expressed by Köhler’s Berlin mentor Carl Stumpf. It is argued that Köhler’s epistemological dualism actually supports ontological monism and aims at offering a unified view of natural facts and human values.

Themes from Brentano. Rodopi, 2013

This essay illustrates the main aspects of the discussion between Brentano and Stumpf about «tona... more This essay illustrates the main aspects of the discussion between Brentano and Stumpf about «tonal fusion» (Tonverschmelzung). In his Tonpsychologie, Stumpf essentially moved from a Brentanian standpoint. Yet, he did not adopt Brentano’s subsequently developed new theory of «sensible qualities», so that a polemic eventually arouse between them. Far from representing a marginal issue, the episode is relevant to our understanding of their relationship. The discussion as to the mechanism of tonal fusion reveals a general divergence between Brentano and Stumpf concerning the idea of human sensibility as a whole and of the method of psychology.

Vers une philosophie scientifique. Le programme de Brentano. Demopolis, 2014

ABSTRACT

Rivista di filosofia, 2017

Brentano’s views on the ontological status of sensations have been almost completely ignored in t... more Brentano’s views on the ontological status of sensations have been almost completely ignored in the scholarly debate on his ontology of the mind. This is rather unfortunate, because such views shed light on the evolution of Brentano’s perspective. In his Psychology (1874), Brentano claimed that all intentional objects both sensible, and intellectual share the same ontological nature. Yet he later dismissed this whole doctrine and began to distinguish rigorously between sensible and noetic conscience. I argue that this change was due to Brentano’s views about the neurophysiology of human sensibility. After a long confrontation with Fechner, Brentano eventually embraced Helmholtz’s idea of neural «specific energies» and shaped his newly developed doctrine of sensible qualities in accordance with it. Far from letting his ontology be driven by what he called «genetic psychology», Brentano was nevertheless prudent enough to develop his theories so that any contradiction with ascertained scientific facts could be avoided.

Paradigmi, 2017

This essay is about the aesthetics of Alois Höfler (1853-1922). A pupil of Brentano and Meinong, ... more This essay is about the aesthetics of Alois Höfler (1853-1922). A pupil of Brentano and Meinong, Höfler was mostly influenced by the latter, with whom he coauthored a Logik (1890). In his writings concerning psychology, Höfler lays the grounding for his aesthetics. Pivotal to Höfler’s “Psychology of Beauty” is the idea that aesthetic «emotions» (Gefühle) refer to mental presentation of beautiful objects, i.e. of «Gestalts», which are made up of both physical and mental elements, e.g. the emotions of a dramatic character, or those of the poet himself. Accordingly, in a Platonic vein, Höfler claims that any truly beautiful artistic form is atemporal: it is «discovered» rather than «created» by the artist.

Giornale Critico della Filosofia Italiana, 2015

This essay aims at an analysis of Stumpf’s doctrine of categories. In Erkenntnislehre Stumpf argu... more This essay aims at an analysis of Stumpf’s doctrine of categories. In Erkenntnislehre Stumpf argues that all categories empirically stem from outer and inner perception. Although Stumpf champions an empiricist explanation of the matter, he firmly rejects associationism. In his conception of the origin of categories, including substance, Stumpf builds on the assumption that human perception behaves dynamically. Sensory experience consists indeed essentially of perceptual wholes. The analysis of Stumpf’s theses is of great importance for our thorough understanding of his philosophy. His theory regarding this crucial philosophical topic diverges considerably from Brentano’s.

Philosophical readings, 2018

When not ignored by scholars, Lotze's logic is understood as an example of either psychologism or... more When not ignored by scholars, Lotze's logic is understood as an example of either psychologism or Pla-tonism. As a matter of fact, despite his allowance for the topic of the origin of concepts, Lotze manages to avoid logical psychologism. At the same time, concepts cannot be said to have validity (Geltung) in the same way as propositions in themselves do: were this the case, one could actually ascribe Lotze a form of Platonism. Avoiding the crass dichotomy between realism and nominalism, Lotze works out a meticulous analysis of the relation between general concepts and our knowledge of reality, which is perfectly compliant with his teleological worldview.

Le leggi del pensiero tra logica, ontologia e psicologia (1830-1930). Unicopli, 2002

Quodlibet, 2009

Allievo di Franz Brentano e di Hermann Lotze, maestro di Edmund Husserl e in seguito dei fondator... more Allievo di Franz Brentano e di Hermann Lotze, maestro di Edmund Husserl e in seguito dei fondatori della psicologia della Gestalt – Köhler, Koffka e Wertheimer – Carl Stumpf fu uno dei massimi esponenti della filosofia del suo tempo. Filosofo dai vasti interessi, ma anche psicologo di rango, attento studioso di filosofia della musica e pioniere dell’etnomusicologia, Stumpf è una figura originale, il cui lungo itinerario intellettuale appare sempre più imprescindibile per comprendere l’evoluzione del pensiero filosofico della seconda metà dell’Ottocento e del primo Novecento in Germania. Estraneo ai dogmi del positivismo allora imperante, ma anche alla fascinazione trascendentale della fenomenologia husserliana, Stumpf concepisce la riflessione filosofica come esercizio critico aperto all’esperienza e tuttavia capace di trascenderla per mirare alle vette della speculazione metafisica ed etica. Gli scritti qui tradotti (Psicologia e teoria della conoscenza; Il corpo e l'anima; Fenomeni e funzioni psichiche; La classificazione delle scienze; La rinascita della filosofia; Autobiografia) consentono, con l'aiuto dell'apparato critico, di dare corpo all’idea di una rinascita della filosofia, che riecheggia il titolo di una conferenza berlinese di Stumpf del 1907, ma che ben si attaglia al suo progetto filosofico complessivo.

Cornelio Fabro e Franz Brentano. Studium, 2013

Il lavoro analizza la tempestiva ricezione da parte di Cornelio Fabro della filosofia di Carl Stu... more Il lavoro analizza la tempestiva ricezione da parte di Cornelio Fabro della filosofia di Carl Stumpf, così come esposta nella postuma Erkenntnislehre. Fin dai lavori dei primi anni Quaranta Fabro adotta una concezione della ‘fenomenologia’ distante da quella di Husserl perché ricalcata sulla definizione stumpfiana. Più in generale, Fabro si ispira a Stumpf ancor più che allo stesso Brentano. A partire dalla distinzione tra ‘fenomeni' e ‘funzioni psichiche’ Stumpf è infatti capace di proseguire il rilancio dell’aristotelismo con coerenza ancor maggiore di Brentano.

De Gruyter, 2019

This book fills a remarkable gap in literature. It provides an overview of the main philosophical... more This book fills a remarkable gap in literature. It provides an overview of the main philosophical theories about music from Antiquity to contemporary analytic philosophy. Besides the aesthetic aspects of music, the volume touches upon metaphysics, ethics, philosophy of language, psychology, anthropology, and scientific developments that have influenced the philosophical explanations of music.

Il Mulino, 2012

A partire dalle idee sulla musica dei filosofi antichi, attraverso le concezioni medievali e rina... more A partire dalle idee sulla musica dei filosofi antichi, attraverso le concezioni medievali e rinascimentali, il volume considera l'impatto della rivoluzione scientifica, la stagione illuminista e gli sviluppi ottocenteschi, per giungere infine al ricco dibattito contemporaneo. Tra i principali autori trattati: i pitagorici, Platone, Aristotele, Aristosseno, Boezio, Agostino, Tomaso d'Aquino, Ficino, Galileo, Mersenne, Cartesio, Leibniz, Rousseau, Kant, Novalis, Schelling, Wackenroder, Hoffmann, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Hegel, Hanslick, Helmholtz, Nietzsche, Bloch, Adorno, Jankélévitch, Wittgenstein, S. Langer, P. Kivy, J. Levinson, N. Goodman, R. Scruton.

The Making of the Humanities (III). Amsterdam University Press, 2013

The ancient Greeks already used to give ethnic names (Doric, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.) to their dif... more The ancient Greeks already used to give ethnic names (Doric, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.) to their different scales, and observations on differences in music of the various nations always raised the interest of musicians and philosophers. Yet, it was only in the late nineteenth century that “comparative musicology” (i.e. ethnomusicology) became an institutional science. An important role in this process was played by Carl Stumpf, a former pupil of Brentano’s who pioneered these researches in Berlin. Stumpf founded the Phonogrammarchiv (1900) to collect recordings of folk and extra-European music and a dedicated journal, the Sammelbände für vergleichende Musikwissenschaft. Musical consonance – he claimed – lays in this level of “tonal fusion”, not in the allegedly “natural” series of the harmonic partials of a vibrating chord, as suggested by the naturalists of all times from Pythagoras to Stumpf’s great contemporary Hermann Helmholtz. Although Stumpf later revised and finally abandoned this theory, its permanent value lays in its opposition to dominant naturalistic approaches. The fundamentally Eurocentric stance of naturalistic theories of music is also fiercely contrasted by Stumpf’s pupil Erich Hornbostel, who suggests that music ought to be considered as culture, rather than as nature, and focuses attention on the eventually melting human cultures.

Meinong Studies (II). De Gruyter, 2006

Ehrenfels, Höfler and Witasek competently contributed to a musical aesthetics based upon the prin... more Ehrenfels, Höfler and Witasek competently contributed to a musical aesthetics based upon the principles of the Graz school. In spite of a shared general psychological framework, they deeply differ in applying it to the aesthetics of music. A double tendency can be pointed out. Ehrenfels and Höfler enthusiastically supported Richard Wagner and vindicated the aesthetic value of his music. Accordingly, they made large use of analogies between musical and organic Gestalten. In a platonic vein, Höfler also thinks of melodies as timeless objects, which are discovered rather than created by great artists. On the contrary, Witasek’s approach is quite rationalistic. Avoiding any intrusion of metaphysics, he describes the intellectual and emotional processes involved in hearing a piece of music. Wholly independently of Wagnerism, Witasek explains the complexity of musical experience in the general terms of Meinongian psychology.

Meinong Studies (IV). De Gruyter, 2010

ABSTRACT: Music represents a crucial issue in nineteenth-century philosophy and science. Scholars... more ABSTRACT: Music represents a crucial issue in nineteenth-century philosophy and science. Scholars generally possessed a good musical competence and contributed to the explanation of sound perception and aesthetic enjoyment in music. Reflexions on musical psychology, in turn, influenced general theories of mind, sometimes in an impressive way. Meinong plays a remarkable role within this context. Together with Mach, Ehrenfels and Stumpf, Meinong contributed to overtake Helmholtz ’ physical-physiological theory, supporting a more comprehensive approach. He was repeatedly concerned with problems such as to- nal fusion, tone quality (Klangfarbe) and melodic perception. Although Meinong did not develop musical problems systematically, he assumed a quite original and interesting position. His ideas have been developed by some of his followers in the School of Graz.

Il lamento dell'ideale. Beethoven e la filosofia hegeliana. EUT, 2018

Il saggio analizza il tema, sollevato da Adorno, della "humanitas" nella musica alla luce dell'op... more Il saggio analizza il tema, sollevato da Adorno, della "humanitas" nella musica alla luce dell'opera di Beethoven. Lungi dal banalizzare l’umanesimo beethoveniano entro componenti storico-sociologiche o soggettivistiche, Adorno ci invita a riflettere sul significato ultimo della musica alla luce della humanitas di Beethoven. Per quasi un millennio a partire da Severino Boezio, la musica è stata istituzionalmente un’ars quadrivialis, una scienza esatta collocata accanto ad aritmetica, geometria ed astronomia: che senso ha dunque l' “umanesimo” nella musica? Da dove viene, quale è la sua radice? Nella lettura di Adorno, è attraverso l'antropologia – nella peculiare accezione hegeliana – che il discorso filosofico incontra la musica di Beethoven in un modo per certi versi inatteso ma particolarmente significativo, che chiarisce questo aspetto non troppo frequentato del rapporto tra Hegel e Beethoven.

Intersezioni, 1999

Tremore e sensazione.

Intersezioni, 2004

L’opera filosofica di Novalis, inedita e frammentaria per ragioni biografiche (l’autore morì vent... more L’opera filosofica di Novalis, inedita e frammentaria per ragioni biografiche (l’autore morì ventinovenne), è stata a lungo trascurata. Gli studi fichtiani e l’interesse per la scienza sono alla base della sua «Enciclopedistica», nella quale la filosofia della musica ha un posto rilevante. Novalis conosce la scienza acustica del suo tempo (Chladni) e riconduce i rapporti tra suoni e figure a una forza formatrice presente nella natura fin dal livello inorganico (acustica «chimica»). La medesima forza si presenta poi nell’uomo tramite la voce, espressione più autentica della libertà assoluta dell’Io (acustica «trascendentale»). Lungi da ogni «sentimentalismo» l’identità di uomo e natura si manifesta in una rarefatta estetica simbolica condensata da Novalis nell’immagine dell’«arpa eolia».

Estetiche della percezione. Firenze University Press

La percezione musicale ha avuto un ruolo significativo nella storia della psicologia della Gestal... more La percezione musicale ha avuto un ruolo significativo nella storia della psicologia della Gestalt. Muovendo dalle critiche di Mach ed Ehrenfels alla dottrina elaborata da Helmholtz e dall’elaborazione teorica di Stumpf, destinata a fungere da ponte concettuale, il lavoro analizza la riflessione svoltasi in seno alla psicologia della Gestalt. Sorprendentemente, Köhler non si concentra sulle Gestalten musicali complesse, ma sulle qualità tonali più elementari, mostrandone la totale irriducibilità a fattori fisico-fisiologici. Sulla stessa linea è anche Hornbostel, il quale amplia tuttavia il discorso mediante il richiamo al complesso antropologico dei vissuti umani, musicali ed extramusicali, che rimandano a un determinato contesto culturale, saldando così il nesso tra psicologia della Gestalt e ricerca nel campo etnomusicologico.

Aisthesis, 2013

Can music express the world-view (Weltanschauung) of a certain composer, or of a certain historic... more Can music express the world-view (Weltanschauung) of a certain composer, or of a certain historical era – and how? In 19th Century, the wide-ranging philosophical implications of this question raised an intriguing quarrel between the formalists’ scepticism as to this point and their various opponents. Starting from the case study of the German psychologist and philosopher of music Georg Anschütz (1886-1953), it is argued that allowing for a systematic link of music and the world-views easily turns into the far more demanding (and occasionally ambiguous) claim that music is the best and perhaps the only way to express them properly. In turn, this attitude sits well with the tendency to think of music hearing as a disembodied process, hinting at the deep dimension of synesthesia rather than to that of music as a cultural phenomenon, in Erich Hornbostel’s sense.

Il Saggiatore musicale, 1998

ABSTRACT This essay reconstructs the history of Gestalt psychology taking as its starting points ... more ABSTRACT This essay reconstructs the history of Gestalt psychology taking as its starting points the early 20th century surge in psychology-of-music research. Leaving behind established tradition, authors such as Stumpf, Ehrenfels, Meinong, Krueger, and Witasek developed a new model of psychic development based on musical experience. The melodic and harmonic combination of sounds – with all its sentimental effects – became the new, fascinating dominant paradigm in theories of perception and cognitive flow in general, with important consequences with regard to musical aesthetics.The Gestalt theory properly speaking, formulated by Wertheimer, Koffka and Köhler, arose in this context, its defining characteristic being the tendency to salvage some of the perspectives of romantic philosophy with regard to nature which stemmed from an innovative use of the concept of ‘sense’. This approach is best exemplified by musical applications such as those of Hornbostel, the famous ethnomusicologist who was also an important Gestalt theorist.

Axiomathes, 1999

1. Alcuni settori della cultura austriaca e tedesca della fine del secolo scorso furono consapevo... more 1. Alcuni settori della cultura austriaca e tedesca della fine del secolo scorso furono consapevoli della dignità filosofica del problema della percezione del suono come possibile fondamento per la psicologia e per l'estetica della musica. In particolare, per quanto concerne gli autori che fanno più o meno direttamente riferimento all'insegnamento di Alexius Meinong, e dunque la composita e vivace scuola psicologico-filosofica di Graz, questa tematica si rivela -a nostro avvisod'importanza addirittura decisiva. Dal punto di vista genetico, è noto come l'origine della questione delle Gestaltqualitäten sia legata, secondo quanto lo stesso Christian von Ehrenfels ebbe ad affermare, al chiarimento del problema espresso dalla domanda «che cos'è una melodia?». Ma anche prescindendo da questa circostanza, in sé significativa ma non ancora sufficiente a inquadrare correttamente il problema, si può rilevare come il dibattito attorno alla percezione acustica e musicale costituisca uno dei filoni portanti delle elaborazioni teoriche della scuola di Graz, dalle ricerche di Alexius Meinong e Stephan Witasek sulla fusione tonale e il problema del timbro, a quelle di Anton Faist relative alla consonanza, intesa come oggetto di ordine superiore, fino all'applicazione dell'elaborato concettuale più originale della scuola -quello di «produzione di rappresentazioni» -alle più complesse questioni della percezione polifonica e dell'estetica musicale, ancora una volta ad opera di Witasek. 1 Questo insieme di pregevoli lavori va peraltro inquadrato entro uno sfondo culturale più ampio, tenendo presente come la civiltà musicale europea del tempo fosse attraversata da un interesse per la musica difficilmente contenibile entro gli stretti spazi di un laboratorio di psicologia. Ehrenfels, ad esempio, fu un acceso seguace di Wagner, in sintonia e occasionalmente in cooperazione con un altro importante wagneriano quale Friedrich von Hausegger, autore di una teorizzazione del valore espressivo della musica persino più significativa di quelle non sempre 1 Cfr. le recensioni di Meinong ai due volumi (1883 e 1890) della Tonpsychologie di Carl Stumpf, apparse nella

Discipline filosofiche, 2002

1. Lipps e la psicologia della musica Ricordando la figura del maestro da poco scomparso, Georg A... more 1. Lipps e la psicologia della musica Ricordando la figura del maestro da poco scomparso, Georg Anschütz distingueva tre periodi nell'opera di Theodor Lipps: il primo, comprendente il ponderoso volume Grundtatsachen des Seelenlebens (1883) e la prima edizione delle Psychologische Studien (1885), è pervaso da una visione associazionista e meccanicista della psicologia, influenzata da Hume e da Herbart; il secondo è caratterizzato dall'approfondimento di problemi di estetica, logica ed etica, la cui trattazione -soprattutto la dottrina dell'Einfühlung -darà a Lipps notorietà presso il pubblico filosofico ed artistico; il terzo, infine, che inizia all'incirca col nuovo secolo ed è segnato dal confronto con Husserl e la scuola di Brentano, rivela un Lipps sempre più impegnato in questioni metafisiche di portata universale 1 . In ragione di questa notevole evoluzione interna, Anschütz sottolineava la necessità di considerare l'opera di Lipps seguendone il complessivo cammino di pensiero, evitando cioè di ricercarne il verbo entro una sola -per importante e celebrata che fosse -delle sue opere o dottrine. Anschütz non mancava tuttavia di segnalare alcuni punti fermi, alcune costanti del pensiero lippsiano: la fedeltà al metodo introspettivo in psicologia, la dottrina dell'Einfühlung in estetica, il «monismo idealistico» mantenuto sul 1 G. Anschütz, «Theodor Lipps», in Archiv für die gesamte Psychologie, 34, 1915, pp. 1-13.

Intersezioni, 1996

Fantasia musicale e scienza dei suoni. La musica come problema filosofico e scientifico nell'Otto... more Fantasia musicale e scienza dei suoni. La musica come problema filosofico e scientifico nell'Ottocento tedesco Intersezioni 16/3 1999: 517-529 1. Herbart e la "fantasia musicale"

Nuova Informazione Bibliografica, 2013

Il panorama editoriale odierno mostra ormai con chiarezza i segni di una rinascita e al tempo ste... more Il panorama editoriale odierno mostra ormai con chiarezza i segni di una rinascita e al tempo stesso di una profonda trasformazione della filosofia della musica. Il momento appare quindi particolarmente favorevole per una riconsiderazione della storia più recente di un problema che fin dall’antichità non ha mai smesso di offrire materia di riflessione al pensiero filosofico ai più alti livelli.

Unicopli, 1999

Il volume analizza il problema del suono nella filosofia tedesca, dalla Critica del Giudizio di... more Il volume analizza il problema del suono nella filosofia tedesca, dalla Critica del Giudizio di Kant alla psicologia della Gestalt. Vengono prese in esame la filosofia della natura del romanticismo e dell’idealismo, la psicologia filosofica della seconda metà del secolo e infine la scuola descrittivo-fenomenologica del primo Novecento. Il quadro che ne risulta è quello di un dibattito molto vivace che tocca fondamentali questioni di fisica acustica, psicologia della percezione ed estetica musicale, mettendo a confronto molti dei massimi autori del secolo. Tra i temi affrontati, il senso dei rapporti numerici insiti nelle relazioni tonali, l’indagine sui processi percettivi e cognitivi legati alle figure armoniche e melodiche, il significato estetico e metafisico del sentimento musicale. Sullo sfondo, le grandi trasformazioni nella prassi musicale del tempo e le notevoli conquiste della scienza acustica, delle quali i filosofi, in diversa misura, furono generalmente consapevoli.

Filosofia e musica. Bruno Mondadori, 2008

di Riccardo Martinelli 1. Lo studioso che si dedica al problema del suono deve presto constatare ... more di Riccardo Martinelli 1. Lo studioso che si dedica al problema del suono deve presto constatare che una voce dedicata al tema è assente nella maggior parte dei moderni repertori di area filosofica. Stando ad enciclopedie e dizionari del settore, sembrerebbe dunque che il suono (diversamente da «colore», ben rappresentato, così come per altro verso anche «musica») non rimandi a un problema filosofico degno di particolare attenzione. So bene che non è con simili strumenti che si decreta la «filosoficità» di un determinato ambito problematico, ammesso che qualcosa del genere sia in generale possibile e auspicabile; né intendo qui lamentare tale assenza, imputandola ai curatori di strumenti lessicografici dell'area filosofica, ai quali vanno invece riconosciute buone ragioni (sulle quali occorre poi naturalmente riflettere) legate all'andamento della tradizione filosofica. La circostanza offre invece l'occasione per qualche considerazione sul tema di una filosofia del suono. Allo scopo è opportuno anzitutto volgere in positivo la questione: sarebbe giustificata l'inserzione di un lemma dedicato al suono, ad esempio in un'enciclopedia filosofia? E in caso affermativo, quali problemi dovrebbe affrontare, quali aspetti sottolineare maggiormente? Data la vastità del tema, è necessario limitarsi qui a una sorta di ricognizione preliminare sulle questioni aperte e le prospettive di ricerca, nella consapevolezza che pur esistendo molti eccellenti lavori su ambiti specifici, una trattazione sinottica appare ancora tutt'altro che vicina. Dirò subito che a mio giudizio una voce del genere potrebbe ospitare diverse questioni di primaria rilevanza filosofica, offrendo al tempo stesso punti d'aggancio imprescindibili in vista di una comprensione del fenomeno musicale.

Annali del Dipartimento di Filosofia (Firenze). N.s., 1999

Giornata di Studi - Venerdì 23 aprile 2021 UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI TRIESTE Dipartimento di St... more Giornata di Studi - Venerdì 23 aprile 2021
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI TRIESTE
Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici
Piattaforma MS-Teams
Info e accessi: plabinaz@units.it

Convivere con Auschwitz - VII Convegno, Trieste 22.1.2020, 2020

National traditions had an important role in the development of anthropology, more than in any ot... more National traditions had an important role in the development of anthropology, more than in any other field of science. In the case of Germany, several specific features must be taken into account. Though its practices were often unethical, by nowadays’ standards, XIX-century anthropology was at least officially inspired by the humanistic values of Rudolf Virchow. This will change within a few generations with the works of Eugen Fischer. In 1909 Fischer went to Namibia to study the so-called “Rehobother Bastards”. He concluded that any mixture with “inferior” races was always detrimental for "superior" ones. In a 1927 monograph on human heredity (the notorious Baur-Fischer-Lenz), Fischer came to generalize his results in cooperation with German eugenists who aimed at “racial hygiene”. Director of the Dahlem Institut of Anthropology, Fischer was appointed Rector of the University of Berlin in 1933 by Hitler, who knew and appreciated his biogenetic theories. Fischer’s work inspired the Nuremberg laws, and the Institut under his direction was variously involved with the regime.

ARCHIWUM HISTORII FILOZOFII I MYŚLI SPOŁECZNEJ, 2017

The essay investigates the question of the transition from a physiological view of anthropology t... more The essay investigates the question of the transition from a physiological view of anthropology to one ‘from a pragmatic point of view’ in the work of Immanuel Kant. The concepts this thinking hinges on are those of ‘prudence’ and ‘character’, which are crucial for the break that Kant’s anthropological thought represents with that of earlier and later philosophy.

Bamberg University Press, 2015

Realism has been a central object of attention among analytical philosophers for some decades. St... more Realism has been a central object of attention among analytical philosophers for some decades. Starting from analytical philosophy, the return of realism has spread into other contemporary philosophical traditions and given birth to new trends in current discussions, as for example in the debates about “new realism.” Discussions about realism focused on linguistic meaning, epistemology, metaphysics, theory of action and ethics. The implications for politics of discussion about realism in action theory and in ethics, however, are not much discussed. This collection includes essay which address from different and complementary points of view the issue of the social and political relevance of philosophical debates on realism.

EUT, 2016

Multicultural societies constitute a challenge for our institutions, for individual members of ou... more Multicultural societies constitute a challenge for our institutions, for individual members of our communities, and for intermediate ​entities, such as families, schools, businesses, professional associations. Our present condition puts our practical reasons under considerable stress, so that we need to face this question: how can we best deploy our cognitive and volitional capacities, in order to overcome the challenges that we need to face? The original essays included in this volume tackle this question by relying on​ the authors' joint research on practical reason. The essays focus on various kinds of cultural diversity ​in Europe,​ both​ within its borders and in​ its​ international relations, and consider the philosophical significance that different disciplines (ranging from linguistics, to sociology, to literary criticism) may have in understanding how disagreement and agreement can be managed​ ​in our societies.

This is a preface to the contributions gathered in the issue. They are the outcome of two worksho... more This is a preface to the contributions gathered in the issue. They are the outcome of two workshops held at the University of Trieste in 2014 and 2015 on the subject of pragmatics and pragmatism. Besides the obvious lexical affinity, pragmatics and pragmatism share the basic belief that practice and human action play a crucial role in the explanation of meaning and truth, but also in the solution of ethical questions, etc. The text highlights some philosophical questions related to these fields of research.

La raccolta di contributi analizza alcuni dei temi più significativi dell’opera dello psicologo e... more La raccolta di contributi analizza alcuni dei temi più significativi dell’opera dello psicologo e filosofo Paolo Bozzi

ABSTRACT: In a renowned essay, Odo Marquard’s set a cornerstone in defining anthropology from a h... more ABSTRACT: In a renowned essay, Odo Marquard’s set a cornerstone in defining anthropology from a history of concepts point of view. In the light of more recent researches, some of his conclusions are here reconsidered and criticised. The concept of anthropology, as de- veloped by Herder, Kant, Wilhelm von Humboldt, romantic philosophers and physi- cians, and finally by Hegel and some of his followers, offers no evidence for Marquard’s alleged opposition between anthropology and philosophy of history. On the one side, in Kant’s or Hegel’s work anthropology is not as peripheral as Marquard argued; on the other side, romantic anthropologists developed a deep interest towards historical perspectives. Rather, anthropology was quite often considered as a non- metaphysical alternative to psychology. These results also suggest a revision as to the role of anthropology on a broader historical scale.

In dialogo con Maurizio Ferraris, 2016

Twelve years after Maurizio Ferraris' pamphlet 'Goodbye Kant' I recall its impact upon the celebr... more Twelve years after Maurizio Ferraris' pamphlet 'Goodbye Kant' I recall its impact upon the celebrations of Kant's bicentenary in 2004. More generally, I discuss our readiness to consider either Descartes or Kant as the actual 'father' of modern philosophy, thus eligible for a satisfactory parricide.

Moral Realism and Political Decisions Practical Rationality in Contemporary Public Contexts, Ed. by Gabriele De Anna and Riccardo Martinelli, 2015

This essay focuses on realism in ontology and on the problem of defining reality. According to th... more This essay focuses on realism in ontology and on the problem of defining reality. According to the definition given by many realists, reality is independent of our thoughts, conceptual schemes, linguistic practices, etc. Yet, this merely negative definition of reality has some disadvantages: it implies a dualistic view, and it is incompatible with scientific realism. As an alternative, I introduce and discuss the traditional definition of reality as effectiveness, or capability of acting. I then attempt to determine to what extent this definition can be helpful in the debate concerning ontological realism.

Nel De anima (III, 426a 11-15) Aristotele rileva un'interessante anomalia lessicale. L'atto dell'... more Nel De anima (III, 426a 11-15) Aristotele rileva un'interessante anomalia lessicale. L'atto dell'organo della vista è detto visione (orasis), ma non esiste alcun termine volto a designare il passaggio dalla potenza all'atto del corrispondente «sensibile proprio», il colore. Lo stesso vale anche per gli altri sensi, nota Aristotele, ma c'è un'eccezione. Nel caso dell'udito possediamo infatti due termini distinti: akousis e psophêsis («ascolto» e «sonorità»). Nella sensazione si realizza la coincidenza di entrambi: «È possibile infatti che chi possiede l'udito non oda, così come l'oggetto sonoro non sempre risuona. Quando però ciò che è capace di udire ode in atto, e ciò che è capace di risuonare risuona, allora l'udito in atto e il suono in atto si producono simultaneamente, e si potrebbe chiamare il primo ascolto e il secondo sonorità» (ibidem, 425b 25 ss.) 1 . Aristotele mira qui soprattutto a smentire la teoria degli «antichi fisiologi», forse Democrito o Protagora, che ritenevano il colore e il sapore esistere solo nella visione o nella degustazione. Ma l'osservazione può rivelarsi preziosa anche in un altro senso. Pur configurando in un certo senso una maggiore ricchezza, la doppia articolazione tipica della sola semantica del senso uditivo ha infatti alcune conseguenze che è opportuno non lasciarsi sfuggire. La distinzione tra akousis e psophêsis segnala la tendenza a una radicale frammentazione dell'unità concettuale del suono, che pone il problema di una ricomposizione ben più difficile di quanto si possa preventivamente sospettare.

In this paper I consider some historical development of anthropology in the early modern age and ... more In this paper I consider some historical development of anthropology in the early modern age and the problem of methodology. I propose to distinguish five basic groups of problems which overlap occasionally, but significantly. On this basis, I further analyse the debate between two distinguished Italian researchers, Giuliano Gliozzi and Sergio Landucci, reconstructed by Landucci himself in a recent revised edition of his I filosofi e i selvaggi. Both researchers shared a critical attitude towards the early stances of historians of ideas; yet they developed rather different methodologies and were both scrupulous enough to revise them when necessary. It is argued that although a highly complex theme like early anthropology requires the conjoined efforts of a multiplicity of disciplines, their specific methodologies should be carefully kept apart.

IL POSITIVISMO A PADOVA TRA EGEMONIA E CONTAMINAZIONI (1880-1940), 2016

This essay considers Giovanni Canestrini's anthropology within the broader context of the history... more This essay considers Giovanni Canestrini's anthropology within the broader context of the history of anthropology in Europe. Rather surprisingly, the development of scientific anthropology was not a consequence of Darwin's theory. Rather, in many cases the opposite is true. The development of anthropology in Italy is an intersting exception: the first scholars to cultivate and institutionalize anthropology are leading darwininsts, like Mantegazza and Canestrini.

Il saggio espone le tesi del Giovanni Canestrini antropologo alla luce del contesto della storia dell'antropologia in Europa. Diversamente da quanto si potrebbe immaginare, l'antropologia non si sviluppa nelle principali nazioni europee (Francia, Germania, la stessa Inghilterra) quale conseguenza del darwinismo o in sinergia con esso; in molti casi è vero il contrario. Il caso dell'Italia, dove i primi a occuparsi di antropologia scientifica a livello istituzionale sono Mantegazza e Canestrini, darwinisti convinti, è dunque una singolare e interessante anomalia.

Practical Rationality in Political Contexts. Facing Diversity in Contemporary Multicultural Europe, Dec 2016

Multicultural societies constitute a challenge for our institutions, for individual members of ou... more Multicultural societies constitute a challenge for our institutions, for individual members of our communities, and for intermediate ​entities, such as families, schools, businesses, professional associations. Our present condition puts our practical reasons under considerable stress, so that we need to face this question: how can we best deploy our cognitive and volitional capacities, in order to overcome the challenges that we need to face? This essay tackles the question by relying on​ the authors' joint research on practical reason. The essays of the volume, it is argued, focus on various kinds of cultural diversity ​in Europe,​ both​ within its borders and in​ its​ international relations, and consider the philosophical significance that different disciplines (ranging from linguistics, to sociology, to literary criticism) may have in understanding how disagreement and agreement can be managed​ ​in our societies.

Philosophy from an Empirical Standpoint: Essays on Carl Stumpf, 2015

An Introduction to the historical sources of the philosophy of Carl Stumpf

Philosophy from an Empirical Standpoint: Essays on Carl Stumpf, 2015

An Introduction to the main Themes of Carl Stumpf's philosophy

Philosophy from an Empirical Standpoint. Essays on Carl Stumpf, 2015

An Introduction to Carl Stumpf's influences over other philosophers